Process and apparatus for cracking oil



Patented July 10, 1,928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

.ROBERT T. POLLOCK, 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., :ASSIGNOR TO UNIVERSAL OILPRODUCTS COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTHl DAKOTA.

PROCESS'AND APPARATUSTOR CRACKING OIL.

Application led April 11, 1921, Serial No. 460,525. Renewed March` 15,1928.

This invention relates to improvements in process and apparatus forcracking oiland refers more 'particularly to a .vaporizing chamber usedin connection with the cracking or conversion of hydrocarbon oils.

Amongv the salient objects of the invention are to provide achamberwhich has provision for separation of the vaporous portion fromtheliquid portion and maintaining a concentrated flow of the liquidportion to a drawofl ,line whereby any deposited maiorial is carriedwith the flow and not permitted to collect and accumulate in the passagenor to Yhinder the process'in any way by the clogging or choking of theapparatus; to provide a process in which the vaporous portions arereleased from the liquid portions at different stages in their travel tothe drawol' line and allowedto collect'in the top of the chamber wherethey are drawn olf by vapor line connected therewith. y

In the drawings: r

Fig. 1 is a view showing the interior of the vaporizing chamber withparts in section.

Fig. 2 is a plan of the apparatus on l1ne 2-2 of Figure 1. v

In the drawing is shown only that portion of the cracking system whichis essential to the understanding of the invention. The heating zone andthe condensing apparatus have been purposely omitted in order to reduceas much as possible the complication that would involve theirexplanation and in that any type of heating means and condensing meansmay be employed with this type of vaporizing chamber and also thefeature of the invention being entirely in the vaporization of the oils,the explanation will be restricted to that portion of the apparatus.

Heated oil, having been raised to a cracking temperature in the heatingmeans or heatin coil (not shown) is introduced throng the transfer line1, controlled by a valve 2, which rises vertically through the center ofthe vaporizing chambershell 3 I through the line 4. In the vicinity ofthe top of the chamber. the vertical line 4 rcvcrses its direction inthe gooseneck 5 and travels downwardly forming a spiral coil 6, passingoff as a drawoif line 7 near the bottom ofthe vaporizing chamber. Atintervals along its travel there are tapped into this spiral coil aplurality of vapor risers 8, which connect directly with the coil andextendfupward to a height above the top of the gooseneck 5 so. thatv anyliquid level which might have a head in the gooseneck 5 will not Howfrom the top of the risers. .The oil entering the vertical pipe 4 risesand flows downwardly through the spiral coil 6. The oil being at acracking tem erature, there will be released from the oil E pors whichwill risers 8.

Continuouslyv durin its travel vdown through this spiral coil, vaporswill be released and will, rise and as explained pass out into the openchamber 3 where they will pass off through the vapor line 9 to thecondensing apparatus not shown. .Any condensate which is reiluxed in thevaporizing pass out through the vapor ody vachamber may be drawn offthrough the line 10 controlled by a valve 11 and returned to be rehcatedin the heating tubes. The higher boiling point fractions which fail tovapor- 1zein the vapor chamber, together with the carbon and heavyresidual material will pass olf throughv the line 7 controlled by avalve 12 and may be directed to storage or to other distillingapparatus.

By permitting the oil to vaporize in this manner, a constantflow ofliquid oil will be kept flowing throu h the spiral tube and,

any accumulation o carbonA which may tend to collect will be washed awaywith this liquid flow. The fact that there are a series of vapor risersat different points in the spiral coil communicating directly with thelupper portion of the vapor chamber allows ample opportunity for thevaporized portion of the oil to pass off to the condensing apparatus. Inaddition to the obviating of the carbon difficulties, the circulation ofthe heated liquid oil fractions back through the vaporizing chamber andout through the drawoii line 7 keeps the interior'of the vaporizingchamber at all times at high temperature and facilitates theredistillation of any oil fractions which may tend to reux in thevaporizing chamber, that is there'are -numerous oil lfractions which, ifthe oil was the higher boiling point hydrocarbons which l vaporizingchamber.

' are of such character that they do not vaporize at the temperature towhich they have been subjected in the heating zone, the heat content inthese oil fractions may be utilized -to re-distill these lightercondensates as the vaporlzing chamber and different forms of condensingapparatus may be connected` therewith for condensing the vaporized o1ldrawn off from the vaporizing chamber through the vapor line 9. Theoutflow from the line 7 may be re-distilled as may the condensate fromthe line 10.

I claim as my invention:

1. The process of vaporizing hydrocarbon oils, whichV consists inpassing oil that has been heated in a furnace to a distillingtemperature in a restricted stream through a vaporizing zone locatedoutside of the furnace where no rise in temperature of the oil occurs,in releasing vapors from said stream into said zone at dilferentintervals during the travel of the oil through said zone in vsaidrestricted stream.

2. A process for vaporizing hydrocarbon oil, consisting in introducingthe oil toa vaporizingzone while at a conversion temperature in arestricted stream, advancingl said stream under pressure, removing thevapors generated at spacedv intervals from lsaid restricted stream,utilizing the heat in the unva-porized portion of the oil in said streamto distill the condensate reuxcd in the vaporizing zone and incontinuously discharging residual oil and suspended carbon remaining insaid stream from the vaporizing zone. 4 A

3. An apparatus for vaporizing oil comprising a vaporizing chamberthrough which heated oil is passed, a coil for circulating heated oilextending through said chamber,

vapor discharge conduits communicating with the'coil at differentportions thereof for discharging vapors from the coil into said chamber,a vapor outlet from the chamber, means for discharging unvaporized oilfrom the lower part of said chamber, and means for discharging refluxcondensate from said chamber. i

ROBERT T. POLLOGK. i

